Three cheers for Local H - a true sonic force. And Scott is a great guy to boot (as far as my limited and humble opinion goes). Watching him personally run their merchandise table was a thing of beauty; some of what it’s really all about. Working hard and connecting with people in a genuine way. That goes for anything you’re doing.

It explains their loyal, fervent fan base. The crowd was respectful, excited, attentive. It was a joy to play for such a room full of people. And possibly more delightful were some of the conversations I had after our set; sounds, songs, music, life. This show was a real treat - thanks to everybody out there, convening for just…a ‘cool night of living.’

RETRO SERIES:Pyramid Scheme - 9/24/2011

A lot of things came together for this pretty epic bill back in 2011. At the core, it was essentially an artist reception and after party for Artprize, which was still relatively new at the time. Within this frame work were melded Short's Brewery, VALENTIGER, Chance Jones (Joshua Burge of Revenant fame), The Little Village and the Pyramid Scheme music venue (which had also just opened a few months previously). Short's brought some 'new' brews in at the time especially for the show including Grasshoppa, Black Cherry Porter and Ale La Reverend. Everything was adding up to be a stellar night and it proved, indeed. There was no shortage of stage show or talent with any of these bands and I think the Short's beer was brewing an especially rowdy crowd. For, by the time VALENTIGER closed the night, it was near pandemonium. Shirey broke a string and played a good chunk of the night with the backup ASAT Classic. There were waves of chanting and heckling and a wild Bill Kahler was thrashing about like a madman on the bass. From there, it was only a matter of time before Shirey was standing up on the sub, shredding, all while Joel, Campanelli's front man, eventually made his way onto stage to belly flop during an inevitable rendition of Pavement's "Summer Babe." At that time, the band was swept away in a whirlwind of shows and writing, touring and recording; there wasn't much time to think about it. But in retrospect, having these three acts pulled together into the newest venue in town, with one of their favorite breweries supplying special beers all while capping off an international art contest right within our little city was pretty cool; one for the books.